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  I was horrified. Aunt Chloe simply hadn’t seen Piper and there was no way I could explain away what she was talking about.

  Aunt Chloe finally realized someone else was in the room with us.

  “Oh, hello there. Are you one of Colby’s vampire friends?” To be fair, looking at Piper with her pale skin, lined eyes and many facial accessories, she made a pretty strong case for mistaken identity.

  Piper wasn’t sure what to say. She stood there kind of gaping at me.

  “No, Aunt Chloe, Piper is a friend from school. She lives next door,” I said.

  “Oh, that’s just as well, dear. Do you really think it’s a good idea to go telling all your friends you’re really a vampire? You should probably keep it a secret.” She tsked at me, as though Piper knowing my true identity was entirely my fault, and left the room.

  Piper and I looked at each other awkwardly. I didn’t know what to say and neither, apparently, did she.

  “Look—”

  “What—”

  We both spoke at the same time.

  “You go first,” I said, expecting all sorts of freaked-out questions and hysteria.

  “What happened to your fangs?”

  I blinked twice at her. Piper wasn’t freaking out and she seemed to take what my aunt said at face value.

  Now it was my turn to be flustered. “Uh, well, I had them removed. When I was twelve. For braces.”

  Piper nodded knowingly. My father was also her orthodontist.

  “Why do you have to defend your existence?”

  “I’m not licensed. You have to have a vampire license to be a vampire.”

  “Why don’t you have a license?”

  “Because I didn’t know I was going to become a vampire.”

  “Makes sense to me.”

  We both nodded in agreement.

  “So, how’d it happen?” Piper finally asked and I started to laugh. Apparently, nothing fazed Piper. She joined in and we both sat down at the table and I told her the truth about my attack.

  “So these guys just showed up earlier tonight and gave you a summons to go to vampire court? That’s really bizarre.” She sat across from me, munching contently on cookies and milk.

  “I know, it’s like, hello? I didn’t ask to be Undead. Can’t I get off with a warning or something?”

  “Do you think those other girls were changed into vampires too? Especially that last girl who said she was knocked down. Sounds a lot like your story, don’t you think?”

  “Hey, I didn’t even think about that! When was she attacked?” I got up and checked the recycling bin that had last week’s papers in it.

  “Here it is. Look, this last article has the days of the attacks. There. That’s the last attack. Wow, that was almost a week ago.”

  “Maybe she needs to get her license too?”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “I wonder if there’s some way to find out who she is. They don’t list her name.”

  “It says she goes to Newport. That can’t be too hard to figure out. Between both of us, we’ve got to know someone at Newport who would know.”

  We both tried to think of anyone we could call but came up blank. Anyone sports-related I knew, I didn’t have their full name or contact info. Anyone Piper knew, she only had a nickname and didn’t know their real name. She did see people in chat rooms who might go to Newport but when she logged on at our kitchen computer, they weren’t online.

  “I’ll just keep checking the chat rooms until I can get the scoop. So why are you wearing those sunglasses?” she asked me.

  I took them off and explained about my skin and eyes.

  “Too weird. How are you going to hide them? You can’t wear sunglasses in class, you know. For that matter, if you’re a vampire, don’t you need to sleep during the day?”

  “Well, I am able to go out in sunlight, believe it or not. I’m going to try to stay awake during the day tomorrow. I was thinking I might be able to wear colored contacts.”

  “Do you have any?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t need glasses but I have contacts to enhance the blue in my eyes. I just haven’t tried them since I changed.”

  She jumped up. “What are you waiting for? Come on.”

  We went upstairs to my bedroom and I tried the contact lenses. Piper was slowly doing the rounds in my room, mocking my shaggy pink bedspread and playing with my pom-poms.

  “Cut it out, will you? How do they look?”

  She walked closer to examine them.

  “Still too light. They look bright green.” I guess when you mix yellow with blue you really do get green.

  “You need those opaque contact lenses to completely disguise the yellow.”

  I sat down at my vanity and started a list.

  —get new contacts

  —buy self-tanner

  “Buy self-tanner?” Piper questioned.

  “Yeah, I’m not walking around like some chalky zombie. I need my color.”

  I continued with the list.

  —new makeup to match complexion

  “What else?” I said.

  “I don’t know. What else do vampires need?” She started roaming around my room again, stopping at my window and peeking out.

  “Uh, Colby. Who’s that?” she said, pointing.

  I got up and looked. Standing in my driveway was my attacker. He was wearing the same clothes as the night he turned me into a vampire.

  “I”—I cleared my throat—“I’m not sure. Do you recognize him?”

  “Yeah, kind of. I think I’ve seen him at school. Just can’t seem to think of where. Detention? Or maybe he lives around here?”

  I was trembling slightly so I moved away from the window and sat down on the bed.

  “Are you okay? You’re not going to faint from lack of blood, are you?”

  I shook my head to assure her I was fine, but I was anything but. My attacker knew where I lived and he was outside my house at this moment. I just didn’t know what to do.

  “Piper, I just remembered I have to make a phone call. Do you think we could talk about this tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, sure. No problem. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”

  It just occurred to me that Piper would need to go outside to get home. Outside where my attacker was waiting.

  “Thanks. Let me walk you home.”

  “I don’t need an escort, Colby. I just live next door.”

  “Yeah, I know, but I kind of want to get out of the house. Get a little cool air. Do you mind?”

  “Oh. No. I guess not.”

  We walked downstairs together and I braced myself to look out the window again before we left. There was no sign of my attacker.

  I walked Piper home quickly and she promised to stop by after school with my homework. I breathed a sigh of relief when she entered her house safe and sound. I walked slowly around her yard, checking behind the large boat in her side yard, next to my house and peeking around the white picket fence that separated our properties. Satisfied no one was lurking, I crossed her driveway and entered my front yard. The scent of day-old bread filled my nostrils.

  “I know you’re here. So come out all ready.” A slight breeze kicked up and a dog barked down the street. Other than that, it was quiet.

  “Fine, you want to play games. We’ll play games. I spy with my little eye …”

  He materialized behind me in a flash and touched my shoulder. I turned to face him.

  “Someone who is dead.”

  Six

  “Hello, Colby. Surprised to see me?” He smiled in delight, like a child who was allowed to play with a school chum an extra hour.

  I stood my ground and repeated “He can’t hurt me” in my head until I felt myself relax a little. He’d done his worst to me and I was still here, so I let go of the rest of my fear.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” I was surprised how annoyed I sounded. At least I didn’t sound scared, which was how I th
ought it would come out.

  “Oh, forgive me. Where are my manners? We have not been formally introduced.” He bowed with flourish, as though we were meeting in a renaissance courtyard and not in a modern-day cul-de-sac.

  “I am Lord Charles Winthrop, at your service, and the reason I am here should be obvious. I have come to take you home.”

  “Oookay then. Listen, Chuck—”

  “The name is Charles.”

  “Whatever. Listen, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He seemed genuinely surprised. “But we’re family! My family has always lived together.”

  “Dude, I already have a family. And the guy who bit me and threw me into the ravine is not a part of it, get me?”

  “I’m sorry about losing my temper and throwing you into that gully. I was angered that you struggled so. But my dear Colby, we are family. I am your Creator and your allegiance is to me.”

  “Wow, you are so not getting it. You’re not my anything. I don’t know you, I don’t like you and I have a family who loves and cares for me. So take a hike. Beat it.”

  He was getting angry again, but then so was I. How dense did he have to be? I was never going to hang with him, ever. Couldn’t he see that?

  “I’m afraid this won’t do at all,” he said through clenched teeth. He looked at my house and caught a brief glimpse of Great-Aunt Chloe walking by the window.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I said in my most menacing tone. “You get within so much as ten feet of anyone in my family, I will stake you so fast it will make your head spin.”

  He laughed at me, so full of self-assurance. “Dearest Colby, you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  I stepped closer, until we were practically nose to nose, which meant Chuck was not all that tall. I looked deep into his eyes, making sure I had his complete attention, and whispered, “Watch me.”

  His face lost all amusement. He growled and tried to slap me but I was too fast. I dodged his blow and kicked him in the groin, again. He buckled forward, gasping.

  “I wish you would quit doing that,” he said with a moan.

  “I meant what I said, Chuck. Stay away from me and stay away from my family or your immortal days are over.” I started to leave.

  “Do you really think those Tribunal Investigators are going to help you, Colby?” he managed to get out.

  Despite myself, I turned back to him.

  “Oh yes, I know all about Thomas and Carl. They have been chasing me for awhile now. They are never going to give you one of these.” He held out his hand and showed me a large old-fashioned ring that looked a lot like a class ring.

  “What’s that?”

  He laughed at my naïveté. “Why, it’s what you need, my dear. It’s the reason you will live with me.”

  “Why do you want me to come with you so badly? And don’t give me the family line again. I know families who are glad to live hundreds of miles from each other.”

  He stared at me hard. “You are different. You are strong. There is something special about you.”

  He turned to leave. “And, Colby, dear? Kick me again and I will rip off your leg.” He said it so casually I shivered. Then he disappeared in the light fog that was always present in the autumn evenings in our neighborhood on the Plateau.

  As if in a daze, I walked back inside my house and straight up to my room. I picked up Thomas’s card, took a deep breath and dialed the number. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Thomas here.”

  “Hello? This is—”

  “Colby Blanchard.”

  Well really, who else would it be?

  “Yes, I was wondering if maybe you and I could talk a little more about, well, uh, about my circumstances.”

  “Sure. Shall we say about an hour from now?”

  Wow, that was quick.

  “Great, how about we meet at the Krispy Kreme at the bottom of the hill from my house?”

  “Are you sure you want to meet in public?” he asked uncertainly.

  “Actually, I insist on it. Oh, and no Carl please.”

  He chuckled into the phone and my toes curled in pleasure.

  “That would be fine. See you then.”

  I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I put down the phone. I was smiling! I was completely crushing on this guy—this vampire. I had to snap out of it. The last time we spoke his buddy wanted to kill me, and the only other vampire I knew was the nut job who wanted to be my family but also threatened to tear off my leg. I had no reason to assume that Thomas wasn’t just as whacked-out as the rest of them.

  Still, I dressed with extra care. Low-slung jeans, turtle-neck sweater, cute half boots and matching scarf. It said “interested” without trying that hard. I added a swipe of pink lip gloss with blusher, popped on my FosterGrants and was out the door with time to spare.

  I borrowed the car from Dad with only a short amount of resistance. Once I mentioned feeding, he couldn’t give me the keys fast enough. He was dying to know how his invention would hold up to practical application. He even wanted to come along but I convinced him I couldn’t eat with anyone else watching. I was too self-conscious. It must have been the oddest conversation between daughter and father in the history of mankind.

  When I arrived at the Krispy Kreme, the parking lot was pretty deserted. It was more of a hangout on Friday and Saturday nights, but on Monday things were pretty lame. I waited in my car until exactly the appointed time. I opened the door and was overwhelmed by the scent of doughnuts, which normally would have been a good thing. But with my new olfactory superpowers, I wasn’t sure this was the best place to meet Thomas after all.

  He arrived right after me, dressed in a forest green sweater that hugged his shoulders (yum) and faded, fitted jeans (yum, yum) that hugged his thighs. Seeing Thomas in 501’s made me want to ban baggy pants from the face of the earth. I was pretty into him and somehow, I didn’t care that he was a vampire. After all, so was I.

  “Hey,” I said as he slipped into the booth across from me.

  “How are you doing?” he asked, his eyes reflecting concern. “This can’t be very easy for you.”

  And the prize for understatement of the year goes to … the hunky vampire in the doughnut shop.

  “Well, I admit it isn’t easy finding out you’re a vampire.”

  “Colby, you’re not a vampire.”

  Seven

  “Excuse me? Then why do I drink blood?”

  “Colby, you’re Undead, but not a vampire.”

  “Is this because I don’t have a license yet? Because I can’t officially call myself a vampire without it?”

  “No—you aren’t fully Blooded, that’s why you can’t call yourself a vampire. You are too many generations removed from the original vampires to actually be one.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Your attacker, Charles Winthrop, is a fully Blooded vampire, but we estimate he is twelfth or thirteenth generation. We aren’t entirely sure, but we do know his offspring are not fully Blooded. Mongrels, if you will.”

  I’m not a vampire?! I’m a half-blooded mongrel?! Oh, I don’t think so.

  “So even though you have vampire characteristics, you are not a true vampire,” Thomas finished.

  “I see. Tell me what characteristics a true vampire has.”

  “Well, we can’t go in the sunlight; are burned by holy water; must feed daily; have superhuman strength, speed and hearing. Also, we have a finely tuned sense of smell, and we are immortal.”

  “That’s it in a nutshell then?”

  He smiled at my comment.

  “Do half-bloods tend to have some of the characteristics?” I asked.

  “Yes, they can have any combination but never at the same capacity of a Blooded vampire.”

  “Probably gives you Blooded guys a feeling of real superiority over us poseurs, huh?” I said it teasingly, but he nodded as though I was serious.

  “We are superior—and there are no other half-bl
oods. The license process ensures that no genetic mutants are created.”

  Genetic mutants?! No one calls me a genetic mutant, no matter how hot they look in jeans!

  “Seems like your vampire license process just doesn’t work,” replied the resentful genetic mutant half-blood.

  He nodded in agreement.

  “Occasionally a vampire goes rogue. They can’t handle the new system; it’s too much for them. They become unstable and want to start their own clan.”

  “How new is this system?” I envisioned a process that was still so young, a lot of the vampires weren’t ready to adapt.

  “Only about two hundred years old.”

  Wow!

  “How long have you been a vampire?”

  “I was turned during the war.”

  I didn’t want to sound stupid but if the law was considered young at 200 years old, then Thomas could be referring to any number of wars. Human history was jam-packed with them.

  “Which war?”

  “World War Two.”

  So he was around eighty years old, give or take a few. It wasn’t fair that gramps here still looked like a college boy and now that I knew his real age, I was still infatuated with him. Was I creepy or what?

  I looked down at his hands. Sure enough, he was wearing a ring similar to Chuck’s but not nearly as old. I played dumb. “What’s that?”

  “My license.” He held his hand out for me to see.

  “Can I hold it?”

  He smiled. “Sorry, it only comes off when I’m dead.”

  “Eek,” I muttered, looking it over across the table. “Looks old.”

  “Not really. I am relatively young. I didn’t have a license in the beginning either, you know.”

  Now that was intriguing. “Really? Tell me about it.”

  “I was stationed in Germany, in the war. We marched on Normandy and during the fighting I was separated from my unit. I was terrified, I’m not ashamed to tell you. Anyway, I was hiding until daylight so I could find my unit without getting shot by patrols when this German soldier is suddenly right next to me. I didn’t hear a thing. I thought for sure I was a goner. It was odd he didn’t reach for a weapon. No gun, no knife, nothing. I was struggling to get my gun when he told me to stop, and I did. I just looked at him and was filled with numbness. I couldn’t move. He told me to look at the stars and I did, then he fed upon me.”